G. Gordon Botting was born December 25, 1910 in Wallaceburg, Ontario. In 1911, his family moved west when his father bought a farm in the Marquis district. In 1921, the family moved to Moose Jaw. In Moose Jaw, Gordon Botting attended King George Public School and Central Collegiate. In 1930, he graduated from the University of Saskatchewan.

Botting began work for the City of Moose Jaw in 1930 as a cost accountant and office manager of the engineering department. He was in this position until 1945 when he accepted the position of internal auditor with war time housing for the federal government. He took over his father’s farm and became a partner in a consulting firm. In 1957, he resumed his work for the City of Moose Jaw and became a city clerk. In 1961, Botting was made a Fellow of Chartered Institute of Secretaries and Administrators of London, England and in 1967 he was given a centennial medal for public service. In 1971, he was chosen as city commissioner. He retired December 31, 1975. Botting was an active member of the Masonic lodge, the Elks, the Rotary Club and the St. Andrew’s United Church. He died June 20, 1976. Botting had a wife, Murleen, and a son, Gerald.

Corner Gas was a live-action Canadian comedy television program which was filmed in Saskatchewan and aired on the CTV television network from 2004 to 2009. Corner Gas was produced by Prairie Pants Productions, which was comprised of Virginia Thompson of Vérité Films and 3-35 Productions Inc., a partnership of Brent Butt and David Storey. Corner Gas was CTV’s first original narrative comedy series. The first episode of Corner Gas debuted in January 2004 and quickly became a popular Canadian program. By its second season, it was the most-watched Canadian program in any genre in Canada. Corner Gas was filmed at Regina’s Canada/Saskatchewan Production Studios and on location in Rouleau, Saskatchewan. Over its broadcast run, Corner Gas won numerous awards including six Gemini Awards and nine Canadian Comedy Awards. The show was followed by Corner Gas: The Movie which was released in 2014 as well as Corner Gas Animated which debuted in 2018.

Corner Gas was set in the fictional small town of Dog River, Saskatchewan and starred Saskatchewan comedian Brent Butt as Brent Leroy, the owner and operator of Corner Gas, the local gas station in Dog River. Other main characters on the show included Oscar and Emma Leroy (Eric Peterson and Janet Wright), Lacey Burrows (Gabrielle Miller), Hank Yarbo (Fred Ewanuick), Davis Quinton (Lorne Cardinal), Karen Pelly (Tara Spencer-Nairn), and Wanda Dollard (Nancy Robertson). One of the running features of the program was cameo appearances by high-profile Canadian celebrities.

Gens Douglas Hellquist was born in 1946 in North Battleford. He was a Canadian gay rights activist and publisher, most well-knownfor his prominent role in the formation of a cohesive LGBT community inSaskatoon, and Saskatchewan. Gens was a founding member of the Gay LiberationFront, which went on to become the Zodiac Friendship Society. These groups facilitated political lobbying for LGBT rights, as well as acted as an organizing body for social activities for the Saskatchewan LGBT community. The funds from these activities led to the creation of the Avenue C Community Centre in 1973 –the second gay community centerin Canada. Hellquist was also involved in a number of prominent human rights cases, fighting against the distribution of hate speech, and promoting equality of gayand lesbian health care in Canada. In terms of his publishing work, Hellquist established and operated Gaymates, a penpal club that facilitated communications between gay men across Saskatchewan, Canada, the United States, and the world. He also established Perceptions in 1983, Saskatoon’s first LGBT publication. Gens was also involved in LGBT health activism, being a founding member of Gay and Lesbian Health Services of Saskatoon, and the Canadian Rainbow Health Coalition, as well as serving on the boardsof the Canadian AIDS Society and the Saskatchewan AIDS Network. Gens was awarded the Saskatchewan Centennial Medal in June 2005, and was inducted into the Queer Hall of Fame in 2010. He was also the first recipient of the Peter Corren Award for Outstanding Achievement.

Bruce Reeder spent many years working for the School of Public Health at the University of Saskatchewan. He is now a Professor Emeritus of Community Health and Epidemiology. His areas of research are Global Health, infectious disease, the prevention of obesity and cardiovascular disease, and complex adaptive systems and systems thinking. In the 1990’s, he worked for Health Canada, and was involved in the Canadian Heart Health Initiative. He has also been a leader in the One Health initiative.